WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, in theaters now.
When it was revealed that Paramount wanted to reboot the G.I. Joe films, fans were divided over the lead being Snake Eyes. Some loved that the fan-favorite ninja was getting an origin story because he's so badass, an essence which Ray Park admittedly nailed in the previous movies. But others were concerned that the mystique of a silent warrior might be broken, with actor Henry Golding putting a face to the mask, and well, a lot of personality. However, by the time Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins wraps, it's clear from how Tommy (Andrew Koji) has been shaped that he should have been the one to kickstart the revamped film universe.
With Koji's charisma and the pain he translates so well to the screen, there were a couple ways to go about this. Firstly, Tommy could have trained Snake Eyes as a brother after the orphan was taken in by the Arashikage, only to betray them when it's decided the clan won't be passed down to him. Tommy could then have enacted a genocide, killed their masters and the only family Snake Eyes ever knew, painting something similar to the G.I. Joe: Resolute cartoon.
Focusing on his villainous origins could have followed the likes of Joker and Cruella, with Tommy thinking he's an anti-hero trying to bring order to the world, only to realize he needs blood and an iron fist to do so. Backstabbing an angry Snake Eyes and cutting his throat could then have paved an organic path for Snake Eyes to join the Joes and Tommy to think Cobra is the home he's been seeking all his life.
Secondly, the reboot could have gone the other way, shifting the lore where Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow each thought the other killed the clan off and became bitter enemies in the name of revenge. Storm Shadow did eventually join the Joes, so this was an angle that could have been used, with Tommy helping train Snake Eyes as a little brother and both being heroes from the start. Finding out the Arashikage was secretly harboring terrorist intent could have turned them against the clan, resulting in the warriors slitting Snake Eyes' throat and trying to murder the traitors.
It could've provided an unpredictable yet organic route, with Tommy as the leader of the two and the Arashikage as the catalyst for them wanting justice for a better world. Seeing as the Arashikage was Tommy's blood, an arc with Cobra framing Joes for being the terrorist partner to the clan could easily have turned him against them and placed Storm Shadow in Cobra's hub. This could have made a much more interesting story, as Snake Eyes could've then been placed in focus, trying to bring Tommy back from the dark. It could've added so much tension to Tommy being lost between families and the truth, and given the Joes a much more personal, emotive stake after losing one of their own to the enemy.
Now, these directions make sense given how sympathetically Tommy is portrayed in Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. He's loyal to Snake Eyes and devoted to his clan, wanting to ensure traitors like Kenta and the Yakuza are brought to justice for stabbing them in the back and creating worldwide chaos. Someone so blinded by the idea of building and protecting a family just feels like a better option to pivot against, as he has a lot more to lose. In Snake Eyes' case, he's trying to simply kill, not build, to get revenge for his dad's death, so he comes off a bit superficial, cosmetic and generic.
Tommy, however, embodies the ethos where, as Christopher Nolan's Batman said, "you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Reimagining Tommy as this Ra's al Ghul-like character, looking for a league and brotherhood of his own to fix a broken world, is ultimately the strength of Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins and he should have been the person to kick off the new cinematic universe. He has more substance and fits this global war narrative much better as a visionary -- rather than a revenge-seeking executor like Snake Eyes -- and someone who can easily slide into whatever plans the Joes or Cobra are hatching.
Fans can catch Robert Schwentke's Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins in theaters now, or streaming on Paramount+ 45 days later.